With Covid restrictions sloughing away worldwide, a major Australian casino is scheduled to open today after more than two months of being idle in the latest health emergency shut down.
Also of note, it is the one-year anniversary of Caesar’s Cromwell Las Vegas reopening after a hiatus due to the health emergency.
Caesar’s Cromwell Las Vegas, the only all-adult resort on the Las Vegas Strip fully opened on this date in 2020 – as will Aquis Entertainment’s Casino Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) today.
Casino Canberra Open for Business
Aquis was technically able to open on October 14th as the ACT was released from lockdown status, but operational restrictions such as limiting visitors to 25 patrons made it unrealistic to open before today.
The entire staff is expected to return to work so patrons would be able to enjoy substantially the same entertainment experience they did prior to the latest lockdowns on August 12 designed to stem the possibility of increased infections in the city.
One of the reasons the venue is able to open now is that the ACT is the first jurisdiction in Australia to achieve a 90% vaccination rate against the pandemic disease. Face masks will no longer be required at outdoor venues but the policy remains in effect indoors.
Singapore Casinos Open Doors to Australians Next Week
Due to the country’s successful response to pandemic challenges, Australians can soon go to Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore to gamble. The government there has announced the first date of a “travel bubble” with Australia wherein fully vaccinated business travelers, students, residents and citizens can start to travel by November 8. Vaccinated travellers from the UK, USA, Spain, France, Italy, and Sweden can already travel there with a test when they arrive and another on their 10th day in-country.
Casino Canberra is owned by Aquis, a Hong Kong based investment company controlled by the Fung family. Chairman Tony Fung has been involved in Australian investments and the hospitality industry for about a decade and a half. Justin Fung manages the family’s Australian assets, including Casino Canberra. The family has been attempting to upgrade the facilities for nearly a decade with various regulatory setbacks along the way.
Other plans and facilities by AquisAustralia include a $440 million hotel on the beachfront in Surfers Paradise on Gold Coast – the only major resort development proposal in the country not linked to gaming.
Aquis Farm was acquired in 2015 and is a Gold Coast thoroughbred horse breeding facility that as of 2021 boasts 16 sires with both Danehill direct line stallions and Danehill outcross stallions.
Source: Casino Canberra reopening Friday 29 October, Casino Canberra, October 28, 2021